Disaster Preparedness for the Elderly

Caribbean countries are at risk to many types of disasters as a result of the impact of a variety of hazards such as: hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides and fires. These disasters tend to have a greater impact on the elderly than any other demographic, as the proportion of people in this category, is rapidly increasing.

About 80% of the elderly have at least one chronic health condition e.g. diabetes (sugar), hypertension (high blood pressure), arthritis, (weak joints), and heart disease. These often lead to disabilities and inability to perform basic activities of daily living such as bathing and eating. They require special diets and medicines, which are not always available during and immediately after a disaster.

Many experience problems with their mental health and with their daily ability to move about.

The elderly tend to experience declining vision and hearing, which makes it difficult for them to communicate.

Many elderly persons live in poverty and are not able to invest in measures to lessen their risk from a disaster, e.g. hurricane proofing their home.

All these conditions make it difficult to maintain their housing and prepare for a potential disaster. They experience difficulties evacuating their environment, protecting themselves and accessing services such as healthcare, water and food before, during and after a disaster. Illnesses and disabilities of the elderly can also worsen after a disaster.

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Welcome. Irrespective of your reason, we are indeed pleased that you have taken the time to visit our website and our hope is that the experience will be informative and will exceed your expectation(s). St. Kitts-Nevis is geographically located in the Caribbean, the second most vulnerable region of the world to natural hazards, including earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, volcanic eruptions, drought, tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes. The negative impacts of climate change are also emerging and ongoing challenges that confront us. As our small island developing states have immense financial constraints, it is imperative that residents and visitors alike do all within their power to mitigate/reduce the likely impact of hazards, when prevention is not possible. We cannot prevent some hazard impacts but we can be prepared.

In the face of such realities, our disaster management work is being undertaken with a Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) approach, developed and promoted by CARICOM’s disaster management institution, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in Barbados, of which St. Kitts-Nevis is a participating/member state. This approach/strategyaddresses all hazards, in all sectors, across the Disaster Management Cycle i.e. mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation. The content of this website is rooted in CDM, although annually, our country faces possible threats by meteorological hazards. Disaster management is not the Government’s and NEMA’s responsibility alone, but everybody’s business and concern, as disasters do not pick or choose their victims. It is my hope and prayer that having visited this website, you would have been inspired to either become a volunteer in disaster management to use your time, knowledge and skills, be inspired to pursue a career in disaster management or encourage an individual(s) to become involved in this noble cause. Let us work together to take residents and visitors“From Danger to Safety.”